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Voting on the hundreds of proposed amendments in Bill C-38 is likely to begin Wednesday and go on for 30 to 50 hours.

Elizabeth May, leader of the Green Party of Canada, will head up opposition to the Conservative omnibus budget bill in an expected filibuster this week. (DON MACKINNON / AFP)

By Les WhittingtonOttawa Bureau

Sun., June 10, 2012

OTTAWA—A voting marathon that could keep members of Parliament chained to their desks around the clock is set to unfold in the Commons as opposition parties try to thwart passage of the Conservatives’ massive budget bill.

Opposition MPs are challenging the Harper government’s parliamentary majority this week with hundreds of proposed amendments to Bill C-38, the 425-page budget implementation legislation that revises approximately 70 federal laws.

The far-reaching omnibus bill will touch on nearly every aspect of Canada’s public affairs, and the Liberals, NDP and Green Party say its size makes a mockery of MPs’ duties to vet legislation and hold the government accountable.

“It’s a bad way to do governing,” said NDP House Leader Nathan Cullen. “There is so much in the bill that Canadians don’t yet understand. The legislation contains so many measures that to try to pull them apart and distinguish what’s actually going to happen in the end is almost impossible.”

The opposition urged Prime Minister Stephen Harper to break up Bill C-38 into several smaller pieces of legislation, but the government refused.

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Green Party Leader Elizabeth May will now spearhead an attempted filibuster by moving up to 300 amendments to the bill when the legislation returns from the finance committee to the Commons on Monday for a final vote.

Because May is not on the finance committee, she is allowed to move substantial amendments to Bill C-38. The Liberals and NDP can only propose amendments to delete parts of the bill, but both parties will support many of May’s amendments to change the legislation.

“I’m hoping to create the leverage that will allow the opposition parties, all of us together in solidarity, to get Mr. Harper to revisit the decision to put 70 bills into one bill and pretend it’s a budget bill,” May says.

“If the government refuses, then we’re all going to be trapped in the House — trapped by the omnibus bill,” May told the Star. “However long it takes, it will be very unpleasant. But we’re not going to surrender.”

The rearguard action is likely to tie up Parliament for most of the week. Voting on the hundreds of proposed amendments is expected to begin Wednesday night and could go on day and night for 30 to 50 hours.

Asked if she could stay awake for two or three days straight, May said, “I’m good at that. I’ll be all right.”

Once the showdown begins, it will be an endurance test for all parties. Because the topic is a budget bill, every vote will in effect be a vote of confidence, which means the government must ensure enough Conservative MPs are in the Commons around the clock to keep their voting majority intact.

The NDP’s Cullen says the government, by refusing to break up the legislation, has put itself in a bit of a tough spot. If too many Tory MPs douse off or fail to show up, the government could fall by losing a vote, which would force an election, he said. “They painted themselves into a corner.”

Among the dozens of changes proposed by the Conservatives are overhauls to environmental protection rules, future Old Age Security reforms, federal job cuts, toughening of Employment Insurance eligibility, new immigration measures, an end to the Fair Wages act, elimination of a CSIS watchdog and stepped up scrutiny of political activities by environmental charities.

Finance Minister Jim Flaherty says the budget needs to be passed quickly to bolster the economy and create jobs. And, with the Conservatives armed with a majority in the Commons, the opposition is unlikely to be able to hold up a final vote for more than a week or so.

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